Bed Of Roses
by Daylite
Summary: Tsunayoshi had this same dream for years. As years tolled on, the dreams surfaces more in his dreams. It used to be something that he dreamt of yearly. Then it became monthly, weekly, and finally daily. He finds the tombstone of the very man who tried to kill him. The man was already buried beneath 6 inches of soil, but that is not all to it... Supernatural. AU; BL; R27.
1. Prologue

Bed of Roses

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**A/N: **

I'm so angry that FFN keeps deleting my A/N over and over again. Geez! Augh! Anyway, it's good to see you guys again after a month of being busy!

**Warnings: **None yet.

Un-beta'd/Not proofreaded.

Enjoy.

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**PROLOGUE**

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Petals of red roses first flood his vision under the orange sky, and then as the breeze clears, it reveals a field of red roses. Tsunayoshi stands in the middle of the field, breathing in the fresh scent of roses. He explores the forest of roses, careful as to not trample over any other roses or for the thorns of the roses to prick him.

A big, black casket rests at the far end of the hill of roses. Tsunayoshi, spotting that casket, headed towards that direction. He didn't know why, but he felt that he was compelled to do so. A golden cross that was reversed was carved on the lid of the coffin.

Words were carved on it but he doesn't know how to read it. It feels as if he had been through the process of lifting the lid up, and its horrors were too hard for him to take. However his hands had a mind of their own, they kept moving and moving, even though he doesn't want to.

His hand caresses the smooth black surface of the casket. His left hand moves towards the thorn of the nearby rose, pricking his finger. Then it raises itself up, having a life of its own, it smeared his blood on to the black impeccable surface. An unholy black glow transcended from the coffin, and then there was nothing.

He could hear nothing; it was like the world was muted again. Nothing moved except for him. There isn't even the rustle of roses, the brush of his bare feet with the soil.

Tsunayoshi stretches both of his hands to lift the lid up. The lid wasn't too heavy. Once the lid was lifted up, he places it at the side of the rose bed.

He inches towards the body inside the casket, and notes that the man had jet black hair.

Just as he was about to have second thoughts of opening the coffin, the man's eyes snaps open. Black obsidian orbs stared at him. The field of roses started seeping the man's dark presence, roses drying up and rotting away. The man's mouth formed a smirk.

Immediately he grabbed Tsunayoshi's wrists, and pulled Tsunayoshi over to him. Tsunayoshi was too slow to react to his actions. As the red rose field slowly dye into the colour of black by his dark presence and as the sun dips down, all is black when the man finally sinks his fangs on him. The only colour that wasn't monochromic was the colour of Tsunayoshi's blood, staining on the man's lips, as the moon reflects on this.

Tsunayoshi took his last breath, while the last rose on the flower field withered, and dispersed it's petals with the breeze.

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**E/N: **Reviews/Favs/Alerts would be nice, thanks a lot.

FYI, this is NOT inspired by twilight. It was inspired by my best friend, who had me read some vampire story on wattpad... which was kind of ridiculous, but funny.


	2. Chapter 1: Ship Of Dreams

'"_Where to, Miss?" "To the stars," –Titanic (1997)'_

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**Chapter 1:** Ship of Dreams

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The lapsing of the waves, as they roll back and forth determines the direction of the medium-sized sail which had a feel rooms. Tsunayoshi looks up at the moon and the current. How many times has it been since he had watched the cycle of the moon waxing and waning?

Yawning, he rubs his eyes. Yet again, he has awoken at the dead of the night after the nightmare. It comes back to haunt him again tonight. Sometimes it comes in a form of dreams, sometimes it comes in light, feathered touches. This has become a recurring dream-where the man would come to visit his dreams every night. He takes in a deep breath of the salty tang of the incoming sea breeze.

It's just his father and him, travelling across the four seas, hoping to fulfil his father's very last wish. His father had aged significantly the last time he saw him. Iemitsu had been a man of the sea, and wishes to die at the sea. Tsunayoshi couldn't understand why exactly he would do that, when he's been spending almost all his life at the sea, but he respects the decision, whenever he sees his father sitting on the wheelchair, looking out to the sea with a sense of nostalgia. The remnants of his father's white hair floats with the incoming breeze, looking out at the vast blue sea. Age has taken away most of his youth by now.

He trudges to the bathroom after watching the moon that was still high up in the sky. He knows he wouldn't be getting any sleep today, either. It wasn't a novel feeling, but every time he dreams of that he can't fall asleep because he could still feel the raw feeling of the set of fangs sinking into his neck, taking in all his essence and drying him up.

He turns his head to get a better view of the right area of his neck, where he was sure he felt the man sinking his teeth on. Again, there was nothing, except that area felt hot, when the rest of his body felt cold. According to psychology books, dreams are unconscious desires, thoughts or motivation.

He could find in no way that he desires to have his neck bitten by the man in his dreams. The very thought of it was terrifying and sent shivers down his spine. Closing the door to the bathroom, he sighed as he locks the door.

Although there are only the 2 of them in this vessel, Tsunayoshi still feels insecure for some reason he can't fathom, it's like there's always someone watching his every move.

He stripes all of his clothes down. Now that he was stark naked, he switches on the shower, letting the freezing cold water splash on him to wake him up. The tingling sensation of the icy cold water on his skin is cold enough to jolt him up. He doesn't want to close his eyes for more than a few seconds, because every time he does so, he could see the dream repeat itself over and over again, like a broken cassette.

This made him wonder if he's really cursed.

He tugs the end of the towel that he got from the shelf above the basin. Once he dries his body up, he puts on a fresh new pair of pyjamas, and went out of his room to enjoy the sea breeze. If there was one thing he was afraid of, it would be of the darkness, but strangely, he went out in spite of that.

His father is outside, sitting by one of the ratty old beach chairs that Tsunayoshi bought at town for their journey.

There are no stars in the sky to guide their journey, but it was fine since they didn't have a target in mind. Tsunayoshi planned to get back to tending his rose garden after his father passed on to carry on his mother's legacy, but for now, he shall accompany his father 'like a man'.

Since his father had been a sailor all his life, he had seldom been home. Tsunayoshi was thus more influenced by his mother, who was a florist and a gardener. Tsunayoshi sat on the starboard, sitting by his father, who turned to him, smiling. Sitting by his father chased the scary dream away. It has always been that way since he was young, once he was by his parent's side, nothing would really scare him because they offer their protection to him.

It was what his mother had told him, as long as they were around, nothing could possibly harm him.

He stays by his father's side until sunrise, where the both of them witness the entire process of the sun rising together. He has held his father's hands close to his face while he slept soundly, this time; there are no dreams of the strange man in the coffin.

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Tsunayoshi has his cup of hot chocolate, while studying the world map. Right now he doesn't know where they were, and he was afraid that they would end up in the middle of nowhere. His father doesn't seem to care. All he tells Tsunayoshi is that he has to live up to the challenge and take charge. In other words mean that his father doesn't care where they are going, because he is going to die soon.

If the brunet has a choice, he would never sail with his father again, but that was the last time, and his father convinced him they didn't need a captain… so now…what?

If this isn't much of a problem, then his lack of sleep would be. As he looks up upon his father's happy face, he places his mug on the table; it was worth it, seeing his father the happy for the last time. He has been feeling jumpy since he last woke up because the sun isn't showing up today.

There are loads of clouds in the sky today… which isn't a good omen because cloud meant rain. They have to be prepared for the upcoming storm. He wheeled his father into the sheltered area of the sail when it began drizzling. Tsunayoshi sighs, and hopes for the best.

There is nothing he could do right now, except pray hard that they don't end up as shark food, or end up 1000 miles beneath where they are right now.

Dark clouds that gathered fades into black, as the gathering rumbles white flashes of lightning and heavy sounds of thunder. Ever since they are abroad on the sail, his father has never stopped smiling, even now. His father chuckles-his signature chuckle, to signal Tsunayoshi that he is once again going to tell Tsunayoshi his grandfather stories of his adventures in the sea.

Of all times, his father has to tell them now.

His father told him about the storms he had been through; the seas they had set sail to so many times until he could recite it perfectly.

The splatter of the rain became heavier and the droplets smashing into the wood of the sail became louder. Tsunayoshi tries to push his father further into the shelter, but his father refuses to stubbornly. Claiming that he wants to witness the whole event of their sail in a beautiful storm, he sits out in the rain. Shaking his head, he proceeds to conjure a plan to trick his father in.

His father is laughing and he cannot understand why. The storm gets heavier, and never did it once subside, with the sail was rocking back and forth. There are times when he is worried about his father toppling over, but then again, he remembers that his father had once said if he falls over to the sea, leave him be so he could be reunited with the sea.

The one thing he could never understand about his father is his loyalty towards the mafia company that set sailed, Vongola. His father had shown him too many times the tattoo that was on his back. It was the crest of Vongola.

At such times when the sun is hidden away in the clouds, he would always be reminded of the man. The man clothed in black, his hands brushing over his skin under the layers of clothing, at that moment when he sinks his teeth in, everything would fall into oblivion as he was entwined and trapped by the bloody red roses which seep a deadly black coloured poison while the man drains his life force out of him.

He is certain, that at such an era, there's no such thing as vampire. It is just because he was too sucked up into watching a certain movie that he had such dreams, although, the one thing he cannot reason is that he had been having this dream as long as he could remember.

At this era, there's also a group of people called the rescue team, thank god. Tsuna prayed that if the sail toppled, the team would pick up their SOS signal, as he pushes aside the thought of his dreams.

The waves continues clashing on to the ship, occasionally changing the direction of where the ship is heading. As the waves causes a violent rocking of the whole sail, Tsunayoshi ran out in the rain and wheels his father in, regardless of what his father would be saying.

To his utter horror, his father's face is drained of blood, his left hand clutching his chest. His father is panting, trying to take in more air to circulate the oxygen flow to his brain. Tsunayoshi too, feels faint. His father is not going to leave him now is he?

He's all Tsunayoshi had left. He didn't particularly have friends because he was home-schooled, his mother was long gone and now his father…

He had tried not to think about it, blocking all thoughts of what would he do when his father dies because of the very fact that he cannot take it, he wants to lie to his very soul that his father would still remain in this semi-dead state. Or maybe he just doesn't want to think about it, think about the future, because he was sure he would be damned without his father.

In any way, he has successfully avoided the topic of his father for almost 2 and a-half weeks. Now that it has come to this, Tsunayoshi would have hug his father but he didn't, because that is the only single reaction he could think of now, to his father who is currently on his death bed to assure his father.

He tries to think of a simple action or gesture to assure his father, which turns out to be...

A simple pat on his father's back.

He smiles to his father, who is panting.

"I'll take care of myself. Please go in peace." Tsunayoshi mutters, gripping tightly on his father's hand. His father returns the grip, a rather choking one despite his state of condition.

His father hands are swaying vigorously, but it was nothing of what Tsunayoshi could make out of, of what he's saying. His father clenches Tsunayoshi's hand tightly, taking in deep breaths at the very same time. His father's hands slowly crawl towards the back of Tsunayoshi's chest with much effort.

He feels something warm pooling at his back at that moment and his father murmuring something, but nothing else can be felt when his father collapsed dead, lifeless eyes still left unclose. It was the same as what his mother did years ago, except that he was probably too young and had forgotten that feeling until now.

He's expecting something abnormal to occur, but nothing. The rain continues gashing on the sail, and the currents continues pushing the sail. His father's lifeless body still lay there.

His eyes stays open as long as they could. He blinks only when necessary. He shakes his father multiple times, and tries listening to his father's heartbeat. Nothing-there was no signs of life from him. Tsunayoshi still cannot believe his father is dead. He cannot accept the fact that there is nothing left in his life here.

The brunet did not weep. It just hasn't sink in yet.

The storm continues raging, as he continues to sit by his father's side until the storm cleared. Their sail was miraculously undamaged, but Tsunayoshi's first tear slid down his cheek, which was followed by more heavy fat droplets.

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The first light broke the darkness when it's about five a.m.

Tsunayoshi watches as the thick, dark clouds disperse, light cracking through the clouds, descending and spreading itself on the sea. In contrast with the darkness of the clouds, the light serves as a beacon of hope for the young man traveling out in the sea, now alone.

A coffin was already placed at the back bunk of the sail. His father prepared it before they set sail, even though Tsunayoshi did not want to have it. Inside the coffin, it was adorned with plenty of roses Tsunayoshi grew and kept somewhere on the ship. Although it was not the best condition for roses to grow, the roses bloomed beautifully as a last tribute to his father.

His reposing body lay there, lifeless as ever.

Tsunayoshi shut the coffin lid and got ready to return his father's body to the sea, where he'll join his friends for another merry sail in the underworld. Before he sent him off, Tsunayoshi sang a dirge for his father.

It's not particularly a song for the mourning for regular ears, but to them, it's a song his mother first sang to his father when they met for the first time. A perfect choice of song for mourning his father.

"This is really goodbye, father."

Tsunayoshi ended the requiem as soon as the darkness in the clouds was gone when the light took over. He pushed his father down into the sea, without harbouring any second thoughts over it. The sarcophagus sunk deep in the sea, the last thing Tsunayoshi remembers of it was the rose carvings of the sarcophagus, which his father bought.

Once again, as soon as he got into his room he collapses on the bed, already tired with today's events. He sobbed until he did not have any tears to cry yesterday. His stomach growled.

He lays on his bed, unmoving until the sun sinks down the horizon again. He kept his eyes wide open, afraid that the devil might creep up his dreams again, baring and sinking his fangs into him.

Soon after, his eyelids became too heavy, he tries not to sleep, but he can't, he drifts off into dreamland, in a world where it reflects the deepest of his heart's secrets, in a world where his most terrible fears live.

When he re-opens his heavy eyelids, this time something is different. It is different from the usual dreams he had. It gives him hope, determination, to change the ending of the very same cruel dream he had over these years.

He's in on a small boat where white roses surround him. It freaks him out, because he's too clear what white roses on a small boat with someone lying on the river meant. As the small boat reached land, he steps out of the boat, careful not to topple over it. There was it again, that familiar field of roses.

He turned back for the boat, but it had already floated away. The waters looked too black and murky. To test the waters, Tsunayoshi dropped a rose petal down into the water. The rose petal rotted almost immediately, before sinking down into the deepest, darkest end of the river.

Tsunayoshi trembled, biting his bottom lip. He certainly would not want to return to that field of roses, where that coffin containing that man was at, certainly not, but to end the dream he had no choice but…

Wait.

There is a choice.

If he dies in his dream, it might mean that he would awake from the shock, probably. He stood up, and took a deep breath, before trying to plunge into the water. He tightly shut his eyes.

Something cold envelops his body before he can do that. Something silky came into contact with his skin.

He peers open his eyes, to see the very same set of black obsidian eyes staring straight at him. It scared the wits out of him. Fear is written all over his pale face.

The man supports him by holding a hand on his hips, another on his head. He lowered his head baring his teeth against his neck. This time, he doesn't sink his teeth into his neck; he nips his neck instead, sending waves of pleasure and paralysation throughout his whole body.

'_However you hide, I will always find you, till the ends of the earth, whether you are in your grave, or somewhere in heaven, I will claw through heaven to devour you and dig your grave open to savour you to your very bone.'_

The man finally sinks his teeth in his neck, and he bleeds, staining the stems of the rose's red, in the world of the red, setting sun.

Again he jolts awake from his newest nightmare, sweat soaking his bed sheets wet. The moon is high up in the sky, and without his father being here, he's afraid. The ship continues to rock on, swaying occasionally, as Tsunayoshi feels someone in the room with him.

He holds on tight to the necklace his mother gave him before she died-a memento of her. He felt an embracing, warm feeling the necklace emanated whenever he uses both of his hands to hold on to it tightly. The sensual, dark voice in his head slowly dissipates, allowing him some time to clear his head free.

He made a conclusion that night. He must really be haunted by something; the question is…what is he messing with?

He did not want to know that, and somehow, he feels that this is only the beginning.

The boat floats to somewhere, somewhere where it has a dock, finally, Tsunayoshi could step on land.

Finally, Tsunayoshi thought he could return home, but all he sees are castles and mansion, and then followed by rows of Victorian styled houses, nothing more.

This is only the beginning.

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**Notes:** Titanic was the ship of dreams. Iemitsu's dream was to sail the 7 seas, and to live and die there. Thus, the sail that both of them were sailing on was a ship of dream. Where Tsunayoshi dock, was it a dream, or was it something else? It was up to you to conjure.

Iemitsu and Nana's death had an effect.

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**A/N: **I decided to omit A/N on the top, because I could just combine both. And I omitted warnings, because that thing is really useless, except to give spoilers. Since I placed disclaimers for prologue, it could apply to all the chapters. (This is just me being lazy). Anyways, this story would probably be going slow, but I hope not to slow I have to rush it out again in the end.

Thanks to _MissDinosaur _for proofreading.

Thanks for reading. Reviews/Favs and Alerts would be nice. And if someone asks if this is going to be something dark, my answer would be 'maybe'. As to what Reborn is, it'd be revealed in later chapters.

I have always liked this type of stories(since young), and yes, I do read twilight, but I like stories that gives me creeps, those type that made me scared. I did feel scared writing this chapter, especially when I'm writing it at night listening to instrumental pieces.

See you next time!


	3. Chapter 2: Ghost Town

"_So, so, break off this last__lamenting__kiss, Which sucks two souls, and vapours both away, Turn thou ghost that way, and let me turn this, And let ourselves benight our happiest day." –John Donne_

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**Chapter 2: Ghost Town**

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Tsunayoshi packs his clothes into his small suitcase, a few necessary items like his daily necessities-toothbrush, toothpaste etcetera. He also doesn't forget his mask, a masquerade mask he bought as a charm. The storm was over, and dawn was in sight, a clear ray of light emerges from the horizon. Once he took all the things that he needed, he alights at the port, which he then watches the sail he used these few months sailing away, sailing away with the waves. It falls apart later in as it went further into the sea.

Tsunayoshi bites his lip, holding back his tears, touched.

The ship must have allowed him to dock safely, before finally, being unable to withstand the impacts of the strong winds, falling apart. Tsunayoshi didn't believe in any ship spirits or anything of the sort, but he must have believed that his father had helped him to tide over the storm; the ship would not have miraculously tided through the virulent and violent raging storm.

"Thank you, _Tou-san_, may your spirit rest in peace."

The harbour only consists of a ship dock; a counter that looks like it had been left deserted for ages. The last record in the yellowish tattered book that looks like it has been through storm, rain and many other kind of disasters is about two hundred years ago. Tsunayoshi trembles, wondering if he has reached somewhere where there's no civilization.

When his boots contacts with another plank in the bridge, the plank gave way and he almost fell into the dark, murky waters that reminds him so much of the waters in the dream. The plank makes a crunching sound whenever Tsunayoshi lands another step on it, so he makes sure he does not stomp on it to ensure his safety.

The bridge leads to a forest trail, where red moths were fluttering around blue, sapphire coloured flowers. Strangely the forest holds no hues of green in it. Tsunayoshi wonders if he has landed in some place unknown, like somewhere out of a storybook or a fable. Why does this place exist on earth, and yet has been undiscovered by humans?

Technology should be able to advance this fast to discover this.

Tsunayoshi vaguely remembers about his mother telling him about crimson coloured moths. They suck the essence of plants and humans alike. To avoid them from doing this, don't wear or carry blue coloured objects.

Tsunayoshi checked his luggage and his garments for any blue objects before continuing on the forest trail. None of the moths flutter to him then. Tsunayoshi heaved a sign before he continued on the trail. This place is beautiful, if only he could capture it with his camera…

He loves taking photos of his roses back at home, naming and categorizing them. He named each plant very different names, and talked to them when he fertilized or watered them. It doesn't matter if someone thinks that he's mad.

He misses taking care of his plants. Although he had left his plants in the hands of his best friends, Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi, he can't help but fret.

After the forest trail, comes another bridge where Tsunayoshi has to cross. A signboard with paint faded away which writes, "caution: do not look down when crossing the bridge" was hung at the side of the bridge.

Tsunayoshi glanced at the bottom of the ravine and gulped. He's not crossing the bridge now but he already feels afraid. He held on to the rough ropes of the bridge, while closing his eyes, it guides him to the other side of the bridge. Ignoring the shaking of the bridge, ignoring the sound of the wooden planks, he safely arrived at the other side of the bridge.

* * *

Where he arrives is a deserted town. It is where if he kicked a can, multiple echoes of the sound of him kicking the can could be heard. He tries calling out, but he knows it was futile, because the town looks like no one had lived there in ages.

However, there are different sectors of the town, ranging from short houses, to taller houses and then to mansions. The short houses were located closer to the entrance. A castle stands at the heart of the town. It too, looks ancient and old.

Tsunayoshi guesses that a plague had hit the town or an epidemic occurred that caused the town to be wiped out. He explored some of the houses that left their doors open, but there was nothing inside, no supplies, no nothing.

Tsunayoshi was tired. He was tired from all the day's activity, and the lack of sleep. So he finally collapsed by the corner of a dingy smaller house. He leaned by its walls, trying to get some sleep, trying to get away from his nightmare. He hugged his suitcase and fall asleep, this time, deep into dreamland…back to the master of his dream.

The rose petals are fluttering in the background again. Only this time, it's different; the black wooden coffin was open. The man inside was not inside the coffin this time. He was sitting on the floating black throne on top of the black murky river.

"So you've arrived."

Tsunayoshi quivered under the soft, sombre, baritone voice. His voice just had this sort of effect. Tsunayoshi plucked up all his courage to talk to the man. He noticed that the man had orbs so black, maybe even as black as hell. He was wearing a fedora, and a pinstripe suit. He wondered if vampires were this stylish.

"Who are you? Why are you in my dreams? Why do I keep dreaming of you?"

"You've stopped trying to escape," the man mused, tugging one of his sideburns. The next moment the man was beside him, taking Tsuna into his arms. Today, the man was _different. _Something was different about the man. He didn't try to suck up all Tsuna's blood today. It was all very confusing; Tsuna really didn't get what the man was aiming for.

The man was surprisingly warm… unlike what he would have expected. He read from a certain book that vampires were supposed to be cold and glitter under the sun light. Under the setting sun, the man didn't glitter.

"You are bound to me, as I am bound to you, the reason is simple. Without you, there is no me, without me, there is no you. The reason is simple," the man explained, scattering into black rose petals.

The petals flutter with the wind and materialized further away from Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi didn't understand; he didn't understand what the man said. The world slowly seeps into monochromic colours, and Tsunayoshi knows what's coming next.

A set of warm hands caresses his neck, and as the man in his dreams appears in front of him again, he sinks his teeth into his neck again.

* * *

The sun soon sets, and the field of blood red roses turns black, the trees wither and the roses rot away, the murky lake dries up and reveals a graveyard of fishes on the sea bed. The cloud vanishes into thin air and out comes the red, full moon. His hands reaches out to touch the big, full red moon, but the man's weight made him collapse to the field, as patches of darkness took over, and then everything becomes black.

"Why…" Tsunayoshi whispered-a last attempt to fight from the man.

Groggily, he woke up, only to find that it was already at night. The red moon like the one in his dream was high up in the sky. The town was not deserted anymore, people were wondering around, but all of them were wearing clothes that people wore way back in centuries. Where was he?

The street was lively and crowded, and the palace looked like it was guarded securely. He wondered what's with the castle, since it attracted his attention the most. Everyone was wearing a venetian-era mask though. He was the only one without a mask, but since the shadows covered his face, no one noticed him.

What was with this island and town?

It resembles a ghost town, one that is alive only at night. He remembers that he had bought a mask in the market before leaving the port to journey with his father. He didn't know why he bought it, but it proves that his intuition was right. He does need the mask. He places the orange masquerade mask on and fits into the streets like everyone else.

He wanted to ask questions, but he's afraid that the people there might question his existence.

The people around there are just strolling or limping around aimlessly, tailing the silhouette in front of them. What they could see was only probably the shadows.

So he wondered around the streets, until he somehow ended at the gates of the castle, where the guards were guarding the place strictly. His intuition is ringing, telling him to get away from the place as soon as possible. There's something dangerous inside. He knows, he knows he is inside.

That man in his dream resides in this very castle.

If he doesn't wants to be devoured alive, he'd better escape, his intuition is shouting this to him.

The guard stares at him, and registers that he's the guest their master has been waiting for. The guard recognizes him by the look of his orbs. He's different from them. He doesn't belong here.

"Our master has been waiting for you, please this way," one of the guards invited his hands showing the way.

He knows that once he gets into this, there's no escape for certain, yet he chooses to goes in for answers.

The guards are real life zombies, just marching around and guarding the place. The aristocrats present in the palace were all walking zombies too, roaming around carrying their Elizabethan fans and males carried around a white whiff of wig-like what those judges wear in courts. Their eyes follow his figure as the guards bring him around the palace.

The interior of the palace is dusty and resembles a maze, with almost corner and hook and cranny resembling the previous wing. He assumes that the rest of the people walking in the streets were all zombies, without a mind. Myths had said that zombies feed on human flesh, or so some fictional stories or games had their stories written in this way. They were creatures hungry for the soft, smooth skin of human beings.

So why is he not attacked?

With no one to rely on, with no one trustable, he could only try to carry on his journey here. There must be a purpose, because everything happens with a reason. An event leads to another, like tumbling blocks of dominoes, the man in his dream… he must have something he wants.

The castle is furnished with black and orange, a strange choice of colour. The castle was built with stone bricks, a foundation people used to think that were the strongest in the past. The only thing keeping him from staying sane is probably the warmth radiating from his own skin, a reminder of that he's human, not like them.

The familiar sound of his boots stomping on the stony castle floor keeps his heart from frantically beating. It eases him.

It was a very long walk to Tsunayoshi, but as he counts the passing second, only 15 minutes have passed. It was probably the most terrorizing 15 minutes in his entire life of 20 years of life.

The soldier wearing thick metallic armour never once stopped his tracks of pace his speed to meet Tsunayoshi's, he only keeps walking and walking, without looking back. It was getting harder and harder for him to catch up with the guard, so he had to quicken his pace to meet the guard's.

Tsunayoshi wonders how he could march so fast carrying a spear and wearing such heavy armour, but he is after all, a walking zombie. It probably wouldn't matter to him how heavy the armour is.

They descended down a flight of stairs through a trapdoor and after several confusing walkways, where finally, Tsunayoshi spots a hue of grassy green.

The grass feels soft under his feet, and it feels like something he hasn't seen for a very long time. It is the only source of life here, perhaps.

The armoured knight finally presents his master to Tsunayoshi. Black withered roses adorn the corners of the grass, and green glowing fireflies, that people once believed that they were the spirits of the dead, were the only light source of the area.

The fireflies emit green light to cast it on the tombstone, which the knight presents to Tsuna.

"This is your master…?" Tsuna whispered grimly.

The knight nodded, and left Tsunayoshi. All alone in this garden like place… with a tombstone, and a bloody red moon in the sky…and it's not a good omen.

* * *

The moon was at equilibrium with the sun, and a lunar eclipse occurs. There were no clouds in the sky today, just a shadow of the moon and total darkness. The firefly eventually dies out, as their light extinguishes one by one.

The name craved on the tombstone was now no longer visible due to the lack of light.

They fell on to the wet grass, before the grave.

The last firefly fell about 30 seconds later. It's enough time to give Tsunayoshi a minor heart attack. What's happening here? It's like the world turned haywire and someone set a reset switch. It was pitch darkness, he could see nothing, but he could smell withered roses.

The scent of withered roses grows stronger and stronger, overpowering the fresh scent of night dew and the scent of grass. A warm hand stretches out to his cheek from the back. Tsunayoshi quivered under his touch. Another hand places itself on the nape of his neck.

The man huffs a hot breath of air at the corner of his ear.

"Chaos," he greets.

His voice is nothing but a whisper. If he didn't whisper it right next to you, you might miss what he's saying. The man pushes Tsunayoshi back to his chest. Surprisingly, his chest feels warm, unlike what Tsuna expects. Tsunayoshi refrains himself from looking backwards.

Right now, the brunet is terrified that once he looks back, everything would really fade into blackness for him; there might be no life after death.

However…the man right behinds him contradicts the whole conception.

"I finally meet you. This time, you can't escape from me, Tsunayoshi, you're my caged bird now." He states, breathing in the sweet rosy scent of Tsunayoshi.

The man nibbles at the nape of his neck, after releasing the hand there. Tsunayoshi trembles under the man's grasp.

"Who are you?" The brunet breathed.

The man's teeth were sharp on his skin, but they didn't cause him to bleed. He could feel the warmth of his lips there.

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn mutters, "Reborn, my name is Reborn."

The brunet gasped in shock, how did Reborn know his name from his childhood? Everyone around the neighbourhood used to call him that, but he isn't all that lonely from their deriding. He actually had friends and had a life before his father drags him to sailing…and come to think of it…the reason he's in this mess is all thanks to his father.

He figured that the best way for Reborn to answer his questions is not to protest about his nickname, but to ask as many questions as possible. He'd protest about his nickname later.

"Why do you keep appearing in my dreams? Why? Could you please stop it? I want to go home… I want to tend my rose garden, I miss my friends, please," The brunet argued, swatting away Reborn's hand.

"You're asking too many questions," Reborn remarked, disappearing with a whiff of black roses. He re-appears at the side of the tombstone. This time, some of the lunar eclipse is ending, so most of the light of the moon could be illuminated at the garden like place.

"The reason is simple. I'm just taking back what's mine in the first place… you are mine, and always will be," Reborn flashes his set of white, sharp teeth.

The boy shivered, but held his cross necklace close to him.

"This necklace might have worked when I appear in your dream, but it wouldn't work now, dame-Tsuna, you see… I am far more powerful than you think." Reborn explains.

In a blink of an eye, Tsunayoshi's golden cross necklace teleports to Reborn's side. Reborn had it looped around his middle finger.

"This," he gestures to the necklace, "Is useless against me now."

He disperses into black rose petals again, this time, appearing in front of the brunet, removing his masquerade mask.

"You wouldn't need this too," he continues, as he crashes the mask into pieces, "since this doesn't protect you against me."

The brunet blinked, worried for the golden cross in Reborn's hand. It was all he had left from his deceased family… Reborn wouldn't be so cruel as to destroy that too right?

He swung the cross round and round like a plaything.

"Reborn… give it back to me." Tsuna murmured, frowning. He doesn't like people playing with that necklace, especially since it's a keepsake from his mother.

Reborn smirked, and while setting the trap to lure the brunet closer to him, he fell for it and Reborn places both his arms around him.

He presses their lips together, holding Tsunayoshi behind to support him. Out of rage he protests, but he only ended up pushing his lips to Reborn, and causing the kiss to become more passionate. Why in the hell was he kissing some stranger in his dream!?

Reborn slips his tongue in when the boy protests. After a thorough taste of him, Reborn releases him, allowing the boy to collapse on the grass from his kiss.

"I'm not going to let you go with that. I am a demon, after all."

The brunet scrambled for balance and gulps. _Run! Run! Run! _His hyper intuition screams at him. This time Reborn means trouble. The moonlight illuminates most of the garden, including the black murky lake and a small boat. He jumps into the boat before even looking back, and pedals the boat away.

"You know, for a normal human, you smell too good." Reborn commented, dropping his necklace on the gondola.

"What are you…?"

"I am a hybrid of a Daemon and a Demon, but I prefer the term 'Demon', and welcome to my world."

Reborn smirks.

* * *

**Notes:** Did I ever say Reborn was a vampire? Kudos to those who caught my hint. Cookies to those who haven't, XD.

There is a difference between Daemon and Demons. Daemons are creatures between god and humans. They're good creatures who co-exist with humans. Demons-I don't think I need to explain this term.

* * *

**E/N:** Reviews/Feedback/Favs/Alerts would be nice. Thanks for the support, guys! I really appreciate it, hearts to everyone! And...I'm sorry for writing so slowly, uhm, that's because I'm also writing something else... which I hope I would get it done by this week!

**Special thanks** to _MissDinosaur, _for being awesome and proofing my stories.


	4. Chapter 3: Rose Field

"_There are moments when even to the sober eye of reason, the world of our sad humanity may assume the semblance of Hell."__―__Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

**Chapter 3: **Rose field

* * *

Tsunayoshi raises a brow, and picked up his necklace, waiting for some explanations from the man himself until he blinks and taste the odd flavour in his mouth.

"Thank you for your…great _hospitality_, but I don't want to stay here," Tsunayoshi utters, pursing his lips.

The hybrid stands at the tip of the gondola. It appears that he wouldn't be falling into the pits of the river anytime soon, which Tsunayoshi hoped that he would. The brunet wonders how he is capable of balancing on the tip of the gondola-because he definitely couldn't, and it would take years of practise for any ordinary man to perfect this.

Except that the hybrid isn't any ordinary man, he's a demon. The taste of blood and …something weird in his mouth made him stick his tongue out. He just wants to vomit out the contents of his stomach. That kiss made him sick.

Nothing slicks out from his mouth, except a thin trail of saliva. His legs parted a little to try to balance Tsunayoshi in the small sail, as he tried to excrete out the body's contents.

That movement causes him to kick his golden necklace away from him. In an attempt to obtain his necklace back, which now dangles at the edge of the gondola, the balance is offsets and the gondola capsizes.

The next thing he finds himself doing is to struggle to breath in the deep heavy waters of the lake, whilst he reaches out for his precious golden necklace that never seems to lose its glamour and shine in the opaque waters.

The strange feeling of drowning never occurred to him until the tips of his hands reaches the golden necklace. That foreign feeling where you loses all hope to keep on living, keep on breathing, then a flash of events that you think that are probably the best moments of your life flashes pass you within mere seconds.

Finally there is a beacon of light, and then blackness-nothing to keep your heart from beating again, absolutely nothing.

It feels like forever to Tsunayoshi when he opens his eyes. There is no bright blinding light described in books. It is just the darkness and him. He would have like to hear the dripping of the IV drip, or the hospital gown on his skin, to assure him everything that had happened was a dream.

None of that had come true. A clicking sound-someone just snapped their fingers.

The candles are lighted up. The stony walls on the familiar castle that he had step foot on are revealed again. He's still stuck in this terrible nightmare.

More sounds came flooding into his ears again. A bell, there was the church bell, one which he remembers so clearly-Sunday church. His mother used to bring him to church when he was small every Sunday.

"This realm is made out of you and me; we are bound together, are we not?" Reborn appeared out in a clutter of black roses again.

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Tsunayoshi frowned.

Reborn's lips curved into a slight smirk.

"You'll understand in due time."

The air shifted after that sentence. All essence and traces of teasing and joking vanished.

"I'd like to trap you in this realm forever, but I can't do that," Reborn muses, "It's unhealthy for you."

Tsunayoshi stared at Reborn. The demon is finally letting him go? Inside, he felt elated, over the moon really, but then the truth dawns on him.

If he goes back, he must face the death of his father, the death of his mother and finally the truth of having no family with him. This world was created because of him… it's created because he wants to escape from reality, that is why all the knowledge taught and applied as well as all the things he needs to cross over barriers and obstacles-he has them.

He was just trapped in his own realm. That explains the Sunday church bell as well… however; Reborn mentioned that it was _his _world. He was the king here. This was getting confusing.

…but then again…what is Reborn?

"I'll see you soon, Tsunayoshi." Reborn stated, covering the brown eyes of Tsuna.

* * *

The waves rolling by… the saltiness of the sea…

He's back…somewhere…on a rescue ship, he guessed. The people around him are all fussing about him, cutting away the cloth sticking on to his skin. He heard dehydration and fever between the lines. That must be their diagnosis.

"…he must be a miracle to be alive," a high pitched voice cut through the air. It must be …a little girl's voice.

His eyes are still heavy, but he couldn't sleep back. His body was tired, but his mind was not. He couldn't move his arms or hands-they were too heavy to be moved. So now, he kept his eyes closed and let them carry out whatever healing operations they were going to do. He couldn't care.

The next time he wakes up, it's what he'd have expected. Ordinary-he's on a hospital bed, taking in scents of antiseptics and all those stuff people do in hospitals. He is now able to move his toes and hands; actually, he's able to move most of his body.

The doctor drones on and on about his condition and how lucky he's to survive, with the exception of his father, which he has to settle his death certificate later, and he shuts them all out.

He doesn't want to think about it. This is reality. Maybe having Reborn whisking him away into his realm would be better, but he had his flowers to tend to. The rose garden his mother saved.

His discharge date was set to a later week. Every week, a bouquet of flowers would be sent from his best friend, Gokudera. It was natural for his friend to send him bouquets and bouquets of flowers. Gokudera said that it was to prove his undying affection and friendship for Tsunayoshi, to which he mildly laughed it off.

The bouquets of sunflowers are adorned on a white porcelain vase on top of the small drawer beside the hospital bed.

The dreams he had of Reborn, they were still there. Each time he closes his eyes, the very same dream would come back to haunt him over and over again. Even after that encounter, there was no escape. Tsunayoshi's sure that there would be more to come.

This is just the beginning. That realm…_their _realm… had weirdly strengthened him. He was sure he would have wept again for his father's death or mourns over his parents… but he hadn't.

He has his eyes wide open now, unable to sleep. Another wink meant a repetition of the same events unfolding before his very eyes, the same cursed dream that would leave that hot tingly feeling on his neck that sickened him to his pits.

He wasn't sure how to feel about Reborn. Sometimes he appears as a good person, sometimes he could feel Reborn's killing intent, and he was certain that intent was directed to him.

It was raining heavily. The rain fell like sheets to the ground, creating a 'sa-sa' sound as it hits and splashes on to the ground. The hallways are dark. The brunet isn't sure what time it is now, but the clock besides him shows that it was three in the noon. The nurses are not fussing over him as usual, and the doctors are not making their rounds at this time.

Since Gokudera did the paperwork, automatically, his ward became a private ward. The brunet was sure that his best friend had connections.

Living alone was tedious, especially when friends aren't there to visit.

His shimmering golden necklace is still on his neck. The thunder rages as the necklace clings towards the vase when he stood up.

Footsteps. He could hear them-the reverberating sound of heavy footsteps bouncing through the hallway. Then, a whiff of roses burning through his nostrils.

He holds his golden cross closer to him. The hallways became chilly, and everything became distorted. The world begins to spin. He began to have a terrible headache.

His hands grips on to the hospital's bedside railings. There was something really different about his visit this time.

A knock on his door.

Another knock on his door.

The third time a knock was heard, the door begins shaking rampantly. The whole building shook, as if there was a poltergeist at work. He could see the enlarged shadows of his golden necklace cast on the white walls, the shadow growing bigger and bigger, and finally nothing.

Everything stops for about two seconds.

It was an interlude, Tsunayoshi knew. Then came another blast, the door shook violently, the glass window of the door shattered into billions of tiny pieces. None of them cut his face, luckily for him.

A black hand reaches into the hole of the door. The hand grabs him by his neck. It wrenches.

It wrenches so tightly that he was gasping for air, it is suffocating. That cold hand has a force so large that he feels like his neck was snapping.

"L…Let go you…" Tsunayoshi gasps, as he swings his golden necklace at that unknown creature.

That creature withdraws almost immediately. The room fades back to its original state, white washed walls, hospital bed. The rays of sun began to appear beneath the dark clouds that roll away. The window glass was back to normal, back to like nothing had happened.

Was it all an imagination? He definitely felt that hand wrenching on his neck.

The golden cross on his neck glimmers, as a diamond fall off from the cross. Three more of them were left behind, embossed on the shiny cross.

He picks the diamond up, but it only crumples to dust.

Something really odd was happening.

* * *

Another week passes without any particular event worth mentioning, just the occasional visits of Gokudera and sometimes, Yamamoto. They rarely came together. A familiar brother figure of Tsunayoshi, who was a neighbour as well as an athlete, came to visit him as well. Though whenever he visited the brunet, he would always ask the same question of why he's being admitted into the hospital.

His luggage doesn't contain much, just a few articles of his clothes.

Gokudera snatches away the luggage before the brunet could manage to carry it to his car. His best friend places it on the bunk of his car. He would have tried to protest in the past, but it would only fall to death ears.

He would not even want to try to protest, because it would never work. Gokudera was a smoker, he knew, but his best friend would never smoke in his presence. The journey back to his home was quiet, neither of them talked.

Gokudera knew that Tsunayoshi wanted peace sometimes, so he didn't speak. He respected the brunet.

It was about a two hour car ride back home, so he had fallen asleep on the car seat.

The dreams had occurred almost daily, sometimes snippets of it, sometimes the whole dream. The cycle of dream never ceases.

This time, he's back to the field of roses again, with the necklace on his neck.

_He was watering the roses. Reborn was there at his antique flower shop again. It was a hot, hot summer, but he was here again. It might be one of Italy's hottest summers. Roses were displayed on various antique vases he traded for his services of gardening in a rich man's household. _

_Every single day, he would never fail to purchase a bouquet of bright crimson roses from his shop. _

_Tsunayoshi always wonders who he's buying for, but he had no answers. _

_They never talked, but Reborn always came at 6:59 P.M., right on the dot before the shop closes. _

_Their everyday exchange was only a smile from the brunet and the occasional leer from Reborn._

"What?" Tsunayoshi whispered, as he was brought back to the rose field again. What was _that_? It was more like he felt he was the florist many years ago, returning a smile to Reborn. Frowning, the only conclusion he could come up to was that was the vision of the past.

"This place belongs to both of us. It's timeless and segmented from the rest of the world I created." Reborn uttered, appearing right in front of him.

Reborn wrapped his arms around Tsunayoshi.

"If you don't already know, I control the flow of time, but sometimes, my powers get out of control," Reborn whispers, breathing in the rosy scents of the brunet. They stayed like this for as long as Tsuna could possibly bask in Reborn's warmth. It was comfortable, familiar.

He could not understand why he feels that way, but he was sure, there was more to come. The rose field definitely contains fragments of the demon's past and he doesn't know why.

The rose field blackens away, as Tsunayoshi is thrown back into reality again.

Gokudera was unloading his items into his house, once known as his home. Every corner, every hook and cranny of it reminds him of so many, many memories he had with the dead. His father, coming through the gates of his rusted metal gates, and him, was running through the flock of birds in the sunset on the pathway towards his father's arms.

The rosy gardens in the mid afternoon when his mother watered and cared for the yellow, pink and red roses with care. He plucked the bad weeds out, and his mother complimented it for it.

Over the years, they expanded the rose garden as their father brought in more money. He had some amount of money in his bank to be considered a little wealthy, but none of that wealth could ever buy happiness.

"It's okay, Gokudera-kun, I want to be alone tonight…so please…" Tsuna whispered.

Gokudera obliged willingly, but as always, if Tsunayoshi would be in any trouble or require any assistance from him, he'd always be ready to come to him.

Soon after his best friend left, he stared outside from the dusty glass windows at the rose field. Some of the roses had already withered without his care. There was only so much his friends could help with his garden.

He sighed as he opened the large windows. He placed the necklace on his bed then he went down to tend to his garden under the full moon. While he was tending the roses, the clouds edged towards the moon, covering the only source of light.

A long shadow was cast over him as it started to drizzle.

The man held a large umbrella in his hand, shielding Tsuna from the rain.

"You know, it's been a long time since I last saw you in person… probably about 200 years ago, maybe?"

The brunet turned to the source of the voice. He was still wearing the same clothes he wore back right, the gardener almost forgot. He's the time demon, that's why everything rotted away.

It wasn't his fault. It was his powers. That explains the roses in his dreams turning black, and him dying away when Reborn bit him.

"You've gotten wet too," Tsunayoshi murmured in concerned, voice hushed.

"I'll be fine." The demon replied, as he handed Tsunayoshi the black, new umbrella.

When Tsunayoshi reached out for the umbrella, their fingers touched for a brief moment, as Reborn pulled them closer for a passionate kiss. One of his hands came to wrap itself around his waist, another supporting the brunet's head.

Their tongue touches, as they taste each other. The burning sensation of their kiss was unforgettable. When they broke the short kiss, Reborn pulled in for another kiss, this time more passionate than the last kiss.

He could feel Reborn invading him. He could feel all the heat. He thought that his heart would never feel anything; it would be incapable of liking someone, because he'd never have a crush in his life before. Even the beautiful Sasagawa Kyoko failed to capture his heart… but this…

The accelerating heartbeat, it kept escalating, he felt like he was about to have a heart attack.

For the first time in his life, he felt a slight desire for someone.

They finally broke the kiss, with the both of them panting slightly. Tsunayoshi had his cheek flushed.

"What was that?" Tsunayoshi muttered.

"A protection charm, so you have my scent." Reborn smirked as he answered his question.

The brunet feels stupid all of a sudden. He has so many questions to ask Reborn, but as the rain subsided and the clouds clear, Reborn vanished along with them, only his warmth remains.

This time as another shadow casts over him, his immediate response was to think that it was the demon in his dreams.

* * *

"Reborn?" Tsunayoshi said, turning back to check whether it was the hybrid.

It was a monster, black, dark and ugly, without a proper looking face. It looked like it had 3-degree burns and it was only hopping on one leg. The gardener recognized the monster's hand. It was the one who attacked him days ago. He quivered. His golden cross was not with him.

Where did that monster come from anyway?

It seemed like the monster smirked as it made its way towards him.

His mother had warned him before. On nights of full moon, it's better not to go out to his gardens, but he couldn't bear to leave his rose garden untended. With a bit of his magic touch, they would go back to life. He felt that if he left the roses untended till the next morning, they would die.

Roses are magical plants, his mother told him, but on the nights of full moon, they attract supernatural beings that would suck the roses life. He just had to protect his rose garden.

Determined to save his rose garden, he confronted the monster.

"What do you want?"

The monster attacked.

* * *

**E/N: **I have no excuses to as to why I posted late. I was supposed to get this done but I didn't because I was busy with school and all sorts of stupid stuff. Before I bore you with my personal life, I would answer questions and theories you guys have.

This chapter is proofread by dear _MissDinosaur! _Thank you for taking the time to proofread.

Reviews/Favs/Alerts would be appreciated. If you need to contact me in anyway (which I don't know why you need to) contact me via eandaylite in twitter or tumblr, best using tumblr because the twitter is my personal account. Just send me a direct message there.

I have to apologize for the long wait as well as not being active enough, I'll try to post as much as possible, and get this fic done before I start rolling out the R27 one-shots.


	5. Chapter 4: Inner Demons

**Bed Of Roses**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Inner Demons**

* * *

His senses seemed to slip away, growing less acute by the moment. The monstrosity was approaching. The monster became distorted in his vision, something he couldn't make out of. What is that?

"_They are your inner fears, something so dark you couldn't see until it appears out. When it becomes visible in your sight, it would either kill you or hurt you badly." Reborn muttered; placing the roses on someone's grave. _

"_Inner fears? I am not guilty of anything, or feeling guilty, in a sort, but what are you implying?" _

_Reborn's lips curved slightly._

"_Tsunayoshi, you fear solitude. You fear death. They manifest out, because you come to contact with the most magical plants in the earth-the roses. And most of all, without a doubt, you fear the unknown, you fear me because you don't know me." Reborn continued, clearing the weeds off the grave._

_Tsunayoshi bit his lips. If only he hadn't been so curious to ask Reborn where he was bringing the flowers to, he wouldn't have to be in this conversation. Stars were glimmering, covering over the sky and them like a huge blanket. _

The monster dispersed away with a single touch of Tsunayoshi, not a black stain or any presence of it left. The spot the monster came to contact with glowed gold, and disappeared. The rose beside Tsunayoshi turned black and fades away into dust.

He had a lot of research to do, what had happened two hundred years ago? Any historical events? Any other pointers that could solve this huge mystery?

He groaned and stumbled back to tending to his flowers. One thing is for sure, the roses, his parents, his necklace, Reborn's powers, and everything else is linked together…including this ancient rose field.

Once he's done with his rose field, he went down to the cellar inside his house. It contained several books recording the owners of the house, and what had happened to them. He remembered tempering with a ratty old diary when he was young. It was the only book out of all books that attracted him, mainly because it smelled of roses.

It had a withered rose for a bookmark, covering events till…some date his small fragile mind in the past could not remember.

He moved through the dusty basement, full of gardening books, gardening tools, rusty metal objects, rags and clothes and photo albums of his childhood days.

After 45 minutes of searching through the boxes of books, he found the rose scented diary. The pages of the diary were already so thin they were almost transparent. You could easily see through what was written on the other pages.

The handwriting of the diary wasn't all that great. It was also written in…Latin? Tsunayoshi was bilingual- he knew Japanese from his mother and Italian was taught in school. They lived in a small town in Italy, which was peaceful and there weren't so much action.

He might need a Latin dictionary for this. He packed the stuff back to their original position and took the book with him. Tsunayoshi headed upstairs for the dictionary to decipher what the diary was about. It was going to take a long time doing this, but he just felt he had to do this alone.

When he was finally done translating the first page, it was scribbled on a piece of receipt.

"_16__th__ May 1813 _

_Under the rose field, we did it. All the passion, fever, anything and everything, I could still feel it, remember the look on his face. I think I might be in love…with him…but I am afraid, afraid of losing him, afraid of knowing him. There are just so much secrets behind that face, too much. I fear that if I know it, everything would change. Nothing would ever be the same again because the roses…the roses…are useless." _

The rest of the papers are torn off. What exactly was about the roses?

* * *

Tsunayoshi shook his head in annoyance and went to sleep.

The dreams seemed to be coming back again, haunting him relentlessly, like a tiger refusing to give up on chasing its prey. They replayed in slow motion. The orangey-pinkish tinted sky, the red rose petals that was fluttering and scattering everywhere, the deadly scent of bleak death of the depthless pond, the very reflection of his pale face.

For once, he noticed something, what he was wearing was an unusual piece of garment he never wore or had seen before, it was a white undershirt and jeans-like jumper.

Soft strands of his brown hair shifted along with the gentle breeze, and the softness of the muddy grounds created a footprint when he stepped on it.

His body moved without his accord again, shifting over the casket without much of a force this time. The covers of the casket dropped to the ground, the very same eyes snapped open again, boring into him this time. He felt absolutely nothing this time round, no fear, just plain nothingness.

He knew what would occur and what to expect. His body was numb, and he would let the dream embrace him. This time, he spoke.

"The roses are dying. I'm afraid I'm already far depleted of my strength. I might be timeless, but you are not. This is all I can do for you, before it takes over me. I shall return you what you need to know. Free yourself." Reborn stated.

A flurry of black roses binds them together again, and a flash of light envelopes Tsunayoshi.

A spectrum of his previous life flashed across him, and time stopped.

It was at that instant, where all the emotions of love and lust, it was at that time, at this very rose field of his manor, yes, that was it. He remembered.

* * *

_A soft caress. An aggressive kiss. The soft scent of roses. _

Tsunayoshi looked at his lover with flushed cheeks, arms around his lover's neck pulling them closer. He needed, he wanted and he had to have more skin contact with him. His neck stung by the bite he was just given by his lover, it stung, but he didn't really care. The blood lost seemed to make him even more euphoric, surprisingly. He was in heaven.

With every single touch that was given by him. He really didn't know why, and he didn't really want to understand why.

It was wrong, but it felt right, crashing right on the field of roses, with their veins all entwining them together, acting like barriers and ropes to bind them and shield them from the outside world. It felt sacred.

Another bite, this time on somewhere near his collarbone.

"Don't stop," Tsunayoshi whispered, holding his lover closer to him.

A lick. Tsunayoshi shuddered involuntarily, and pulled his lover over for another hungry kiss. It seemed that this would last forever until he was sated, but he didn't think this was enough, because all this time he was infatuated with the very man that he could never have, and the very man was now pleasuring him.

It all happened too fast, too fast. It felt like mere seconds, when Reborn kissed him on the lips one day, and asked him out.

He nodded slowly after that very passionate French kiss. Was he hypnotized? No-it didn't feel like it. Rather, he never felt this way with any other creature alive or dead, for that matter.

Now he was held by him, taking him to heaven or hell, whatever he's bringing him, he felt like he would oblige. This man…is really unhealthy for him.

Reborn had told him _once and only once._ He was a demon….but Tsunayoshi thought he was joking.

That demonic aura in his body would take over him one day, he said, but Tsunayoshi thought he was joking too.

Finally, Tsunayoshi thought he was a time demon, and Tsunayoshi was a like a black rose that poisoned his very soul, but Tsunayoshi thought it was some cliché pick-up line.

They would never be together.

At least that, was something he got.

It felt like a fairy tale gone wrong, right now, he lay in bliss when Reborn began parting his legs. The rose petals served like a bed, absorbing in the impact of their movements.

_A finger. He felt a finger inside of him, in and out it goes._

He moaned and panted. It felt dirty, but it felt good. It was warm, and the air was heavy.

Flimsy memories of the brief conversations they had, Reborn's baritone voice, seemed to drive him crazy sometimes. He wanted to bang himself on the wall and die. It drove him insane, it drove him to the edge.

His voice, it held something he couldn't put a finger on.

"…Say something…?" Tsunayoshi managed to breathe out.

"You look so tasty," Reborn blurted. Tsunayoshi managed a hearty laugh and a slight groan when more fingers were placed inside of him. Reborn smirked, when Tsunayoshi stopped laughing.

He recalled, the roses were the magic of him. He was poison to Reborn, and vice versa.

It would kill them for the both of them to be together, but it really didn't matter right now, right at this moment.

"Tell me, you will be with me right?" Insecurities-he had plenty of that when it comes to love.

His lover reply was a simple smirk and a deep thrust into him. Tsunayoshi smiled bitterly.

"Thank you."

* * *

Time and time again, he wanted to know what was happening.

So they were lovers…and he was the reincarnation of Reborn's lover. Everything seemed to dawn upon him now. Reborn used his powers to revive him. His parents were the one that sealed the connection off because they thought Reborn would harm him, which indirectly, he would because they could never be together…and the very fact of that would hurt him.

He never once thought his life would be a sappy love story, so much for that.

That was why, Reborn was fading away. Bit by bit, he was losing his powers. Although he was immortal in a way, he forsaken that for the sake of him.

"Why?" Tsunayoshi murmured, but the only answer he received was an echo of his voice.

Seconds later, he felt someone touching his cheek.

"I think you know the answer. Live on, would you? Stop living in the past, instead learn from it. I have revived you far too many times, it's time you start living without me." Reborn uttered.

The mystery was solved.

"No, I don't think I can do that now." Tsunayoshi said, frowning.

"I don't want to see you killing yourself again, for me or for yourself, let me rest in peace will you?" Reborn said.

The brunet flinched uncomfortably. The memories Reborn returned them had changed everything. He thought that Reborn was a monster, but he was not. He was the one being one.

"…Then let me not fall in love with you… change the past…and do that." The teen mused.

Reborn shook his head.

"Changing the past would change many things. I don't have the power to do that now, too. The very essence of me is dying, and both you and I know that. Stay safe, and stop making an old man worry about you, will you?"

"But… I…"

"No buts. We had our fill of life in our previous life, but I am supernatural. I'm not supposed to exist in this world, but I am. This has already toppled the balance. I will stay with you, in your heart when you look back in those memories, forever and ever." Reborn finished with a smirk.

"Forever…and ever…? Are you tired of living?"

"Perhaps," Reborn answered, remaining stoic.

"Just tell me one thing…before you fade away."

He could see that Reborn was fading away, bit by bit, as the turned black rose petals. The petals then turned to dust.

"What is it?" Reborn whispered.

"You loved me, right?" Tsunayoshi questioned, looking at the black irises of his lover. Reborn chuckled.

"That's for me to know…and for you to find out. Just live on, there are some things in this world that aren't meant for you to know." Reborn replied after some thinking.

Half of his body had already turned to dust.

Tsunayoshi smiled bitterly, which reminded both of them of the distant past they shared.

"You're still the same, after all these years," he commented.

"Would you kiss me, and hold me one last time?" He requested. Reborn's face gave away nothing.

"Come here." Reborn gestured.

Reborn's arms felt warm, like the time they did before. He cupped Tsuna's face without using much force because Tsunayoshi willingly relented, and for the last time, they kissed.

Reborn nibbled Tsunayoshi's lips, taking his own sweet time. By now Tsunayoshi was aware that bit by bit, he's losing Reborn, yet that infuriating man…

He wouldn't cry, he can't cry. He didn't want to let Reborn see the weak side of him.

In the end, he was still the same as before, even at his death bed, figuratively, he was still teasing him.

Toying him like his toy, Tsunayoshi supposed. It had all happened too fast, but he knew that one day Reborn would have to leave him anyway, it was just a matter of when and where.

The roses are indeed magical, but they would do nothing to help in this situation, the brunet thought, as he cast his gaze to the rose field.

They pulled closer, for one last and final kiss.

Then Reborn vanished, just like this, into thin air, right before his very eyes, he's losing Reborn all over again.

* * *

Tsunayoshi fell into deep slumber again, this time, he dreamt of the past.

Reborn was a time demon from the very start. He might have known that, but he chose to ignore it, he chose this thorny path for the both of them. They now lay in the rose field, still covered by the canopy of roses.

"I don't think I would be able to let you die," Reborn muttered indignantly.

Tsunayoshi smiled, and questioned him why.

"You don't have to know why. It's just I don't want to let you die, and so I won't. You'll live." Reborn responded, tracing the smooth skin of the boy.

"Then what will you do?"

"I won't tell you…" Reborn mused.

"Jerk," Tsuna muttered under his breath. They're already on their deathbed, so why on earth would they still be bickering? The very thought of it made Tsuna laugh. Bit by bit, they were disappearing. It wasn't painful.

It was simply…just returning to the earth.

"You would lose your memories, but you will live. I will protect you, till the very end, even if I turn into a monster that you don't recognize." Reborn continued, when the brunet's consciousness blacked out.

"Goodbye." –was the very last thing he heard Reborn saying.

* * *

Another flash of white. This time Reborn was alive and well, but he was at a grave.

"I sold my soul to the devil," Reborn said unfeelingly. Tsunayoshi gazed at him, not knowing what to say.

"I did it to have you, a sick obsession maybe, but after I did so, you began to look at me more," Reborn confessed to the boy right in front of a grave. The grave was a grave of Luce, Reborn's sister.

"…I…don't know what to say…."

Reborn was right. He really didn't notice Reborn until quite some time, at late summer, when Luce died, maybe that was the cause for him selling his soul to the devil. They were both lonely, so lonely.

Reborn was right about Tsuna-he hated being alone too, it felt terrible.

"I gave up my humanity for something unnatural."

"I know." –was all the florist could muster out. What else could he say?

Another flash of white.

* * *

His father and mother this time were well and alive, too.

"We should seal it off," Nana suggested, to which Iemitsu nodded wisely.

"We should, but that would deplete him of his most precious memories, one that he holds close to him, and it would cost us our life too, in the process."

Nana nodded.

"He's our child now. It shouldn't matter, should it? When we die, give him this. It should protect him from his inner demons…and hopefully those memories as well." Nana remarked.

This time, Iemitsu nodded.

Tsunayoshi glanced at both of his parents who towered over him. He was 3 at that time, so he didn't really know what they were talking about.

The last flash of memory came then.

* * *

It was someone else holding a pen using his consciousness to write on that diary. Every page of it was written by someone else, or rather, his consciousness, not him. The roses aided him in this way; it gave him some way to transmit this message over-perhaps across time.

The last sentence in his diary was, -"We all have demons chasing us constantly, but it is when you learn to accept it then you will not fear it."

Tsunayoshi woke up this time.

He knew that last sentence was not something he conjured up. It was Reborn. He didn't know how or why, but that last sentence, gave him a new lease of hope.

Reborn would always live in his heart for that he knew…. But he still missed him, terribly.

* * *

**E/N: **

#because sex on the bed is too mainstream.

Would they have their happy ending? XD. And yes, you can kill me for the vague sex scene and why I took so long to update. School took a toll on me.

Special thanks: _MissDinosaur _for proofreading.

And the final chapter is the epilogue.

Reviews/Favs would make me happy, so if you'd please, thanks! :D


	6. Epilogue

**Bed of Roses.**

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

* * *

_"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."__ –Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper_

* * *

His beloved rose garden wilted, as dried, brown, rose petals fall down to the ground. His luggage was packed and his house was going to be demolished soon. Hundreds, thousands years of legacy, history and culture destroyed into sand and dust.

His hands clutching tightly to his suitcase, he stalked out of the house.

He wanted nothing to be left of this place. The vicious cycle of reincarnation and unrequited love shall never occur again.

This time, he will grant Reborn's wish.

"Let's go, Gokudera-kun, this place is going to collapse anytime."

"Of course, Tsuna-sama," Gokudera replied as they retreated out of the house.

The sun was setting again, a reminiscence of what they had before.

"Where are we headed to?" Gokudera asked, concerned as Tsuna threw his suitcase into the car.

"Let's travel around the world, Gokudera-kun, and go anywhere but here." Tsuna muttered, and boarded on to the vehicle. Gokudera could not help but think that Tsuna has indeed changed.

Perhaps it's for the better, but he could not help but notice that Tsuna's smiles were filled with sadness. They travelled round the country and migrated to France, but eventually Gokudera got used to it, because there's nothing to quell Tsuna's loneliness.

Then one day, they went to Milan, when Tsuna was at a unique coffee house that serves only the best coffee at an affordable price, but only few knows of it. He was daydreaming, Gokudera observed, as he sipped his ice latte.

The brunet was biting on his straw, probably drawing some images in the air when someone entered into the café. He was still daydreaming then, as Gokudera stared at his dark eyed circles.

The man went straight to the counter.

"Espresso, double shot."

Tsuna was still daydreaming. The man settled down to the seat very next to the brunet. He was still daydreaming.

"Hello. My name is Reborn."

Tsuna snapped his head up immediately. Gokudera could feel awe-he could never make the brunet feel this way.

"I've been waiting for you."

* * *

**END**

* * *

**E/N: **

I've been planning a happy ending from the start, but this isn't really one, is it?

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, comments, alerts and stuff . I'll be taking a short hiatus from FFN because of school, and my updates would be very random.

Thank you all.

Proofread by _Missdinosaur, _thanks for everything.


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